CLICK HERE for video sample.

Great Big island  


Rapa Iti: The Tahitian Choir is both a cultural treasure and a World Beat hit of major proportions.

The Tahitian Choir
"Rapa Iti"
Remastered edition
Iaorana video included on the CD as a bonus.

In this era of the shrinking global village it is rare to make an authentic discovery -- a sound truly unheard from a place truly unknown.

 

 

Click on a song to listen
These samples are AM Radio quality.
The songs on the CD are of much higher quality.
Click here if you are having trouble listening to these songs.

IAORANA TE MATAMUA
OPARO E OPARO E I TE FENUA
MOROTIRI NEI TAMAKI A TE MAU ARIKI
HIMENE TATOU OPARO
TAREMA TEVAITAU
EI REKA E VA HITI
RATOU KI OTA TAU MATAMUA
TE VAHINE ORORAGNI TE PARAU O ERI RAMA

PETER GABRIEL'S REACTION

First of all, it sounds like The Bulgarian voices, but right away I was instantly intrigued, it's much more mysterious than the Bulgarian voices.  All the Tahitian voices dive together like a plane in freefall before taking off again.  It's an incredible feeling of vertigo!  It's a unique performance with a totally unexpected microtonal sound.  Above all, it is magnificient music that sounds almost other wordly.

To order:
1. Enter the quantity of CDs you would like in the order box to the right.
2. Check the boxes if appropriate.
3. Click the "Calculate Total Cost " button below.

Quantity to Order $12.95 ea. (Iaorana video included)

Check if Washington State Resident
Check if this order will be shipped outside of the U.S., Canada or Mexico. (Shipping is extra outside of these areas).
 

"Rapa Iti: The Tahitian Choir" brings the soaring, majestic choral sound of the remote South Pacific island of Rapa Iti to an international audience.
The story behind this extraordinary album is as intriguing as the music itself. Soulitude Records One World series was conceived and developed to bring unique quality music, indigenous to a country or a people, to the ears of the World. It is by this mandate that Soulitude Records proudly presents The Tahitian Choir.

Notwithstanding the unique story that, in and of itself, creates a preface as to how this project came to be recorded, we feel what is most important is the story of the people on the tiny island of Rapa Iti, as told in song by 126 male and female voices. The entire population of Rapa Iti is 328 people and the songs in this recording speak the tradition, beliefs and history of the island and come directly from the spirit of the people of Rapa. The dialect used in these songs has passed down from generation.

Today only 8% of the Island's original dialect remains in existence. In today's World, finding an island untouched by tourism, that has been allowed to grow in its own spirit is, by modern standards, a miracle!

 

When you hear the magnificent difference generated by the voice of this choir, you will understand the excitement and enthusiasm that we have the music and notably why we believe it is more than safe to say " You've never heard anything like this ! "


Did you know that we offer exclusive and rare recordings from:
Joe Jackson - Rickie Lee Jones - Jesse Winchester - Rob Wasserman
and others...

   home

Check us out at Great Big Island